Stop Being Mean to Dustin Henderson After STRANGER THINGS 5!

It feels like just yesterday, I was writing furiously about how Eddie Munson’s death in Stranger Things 4 was neither noble nor necessary. Because, of course, Eddie had never been the coward that he (and perhaps the show) believed him to be. And so did not need to be “redeemed” by his death. Instead, Eddie Munson had been heroic every day of his life, brave in creating a place for Othered people like himself to be weird, proud, and free in the face of a society that wished they would cease to exist. It feels like just yesterday because, even though three years have passed since the last season of Stranger Things, I still think about Eddie’s death all of the time. And that makes me perhaps uniquely situated to empathize with Dustin Henderson in Stranger Things 5. Empathy, it turns out, is something most other characters in Stranger Things 5 (and people on the internet) do not have for Dustin Henderson. And so, I have to say, everyone needs to stop being mean to Dustin immediately.

I get it, a lot is happening in Hawkins when Stranger Things 5 picks up. The Upside Down burst through the town, Vecna is in the wind, Eleven has to be in hiding, Max is still in a coma, Hopper and Mike are obsessed with their visions of slow-moving “crawls” to try to locate Vecna one square inch at a time… and also Eddie is dead.

ALSO, EDDIE IS DEAD.

And, it’s totally okay that for many of the characters, that is not the priority. Mike has always been most concerned with Eleven’s welfare and survival. Lucas is understandably wrapped up in Max’s fate. Will never even met Eddie and has his own reasons for prioritizing the hunt for Vecna. But when Mike tells Dustin in Stranger Things 5, “I think you’re fighting two battles when you need to be fighting one,” he’s really just being a hypocrite.

Each and every one of The Party is fighting two battles, the personal and the universal; it just so happens that for Mike with Eleven and for Lucas with Max, those two battles are pointing the same way, toward Vecna and the Upside Down. In contrast, for Dustin, one battle points toward the supernatural and the other points to something more mundane, the banal evil of Hawkins, which is EVERY BIT a fearsome enemy. And I think that you could bet that if Mike, Lucas, and Will’s personal battles were pointing them in a different direction, they would, too, splitting their attention.

When Eddie died, he took care to enshrine Dustin with a purpose; he made sure there was something to carry Dustin through the loss of him and beyond it, to remind Dustin of his importance and the good he can do that has nothing to do with taking down monsters in the Upside Down. “You’re gonna have to look after those little sheep for me, okay?” Eddie tells Dustin with his last breaths in Stranger Things 5, “Say ‘I’m going to look after them,’ say it.” And Dustin Henderson does, he makes the vow to Eddie that he’ll look after the little sheep, the children who feel Othered, who are out there by themselves, hating who they are, without a safe space to exist. Dustin makes that promise, honoring Eddie, their relationship, and the real heroism they both bring to the table.

And so, it is really not all that surprising that Dustin tells Lucas in Stranger Things 5 that he wants to restart the Hellfire Club and “find the lost sheep.” And why shouldn’t he? Why shouldn’t he? This is Dustin’s purpose, and, as we discussed with Eddie, it’s a noble and brave one, as heroic and critical as finding and destroying Vecna in Stranger Things 5. Because the people of Hawkins are going through their worst days, whether or not they know Vecna exists. They are under actual lock and key in quarantine. And those who do not find Hawkins to be a welcoming and wonderful place, who live in untenable surroundings that despise them for existing, literally cannot escape. Does that not make bringing the Hellfire Club back to life more critical than ever?

Because, yes, Dustin is correct, there are other lost sheep out there in Stranger Things 5, and they are having a terrible time right now. And not for nothing, but The Party knows all too well that Vecna preys on those children who feel desperate, desolate, and alone. What could be a stronger weapon against that than creating a place that bolsters belonging, community, and safety?

Mike tells Dustin in Stranger Things 5, “Eddie never gave a rat’s ass about what those mouth breathers were saying about him, and you know it. You know what he would care about is finding and killing Vecna.” And that feels true, and it doesn’t. Eddie Munson never cared what anyone said about him, but he did care about being himself as loudly as possible, even if that meant ire, bullying, and retaliation. And he certainly would not have abandoned that in the face of the threat of Vecna, whatever Mike wants to spin to himself and Dustin. In Stranger Things 4,  Eddie gives Dustin and Mike a significant speech, which culminates in the following thought: “We showed you that school didn’t have to be the worst years of your lives, right? Well, I’m here to tell you that there are other little lost sheepies out there who need help.”

But Eddie is gone now. Eddie is gone, and Dustin Henderson is there in Stranger Things 5, so he is stepping up to be that loud voice, to be the shepherd who helps those like him find their safe place. The sad truth is that, given the circumstances around them, in Hawkins, not the Upside Down, someone must play that role.

And it makes sense that Dustin doesn’t want to hide who is away again in Stranger Things 5, not after discovering the beauty of being himself. Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin on Stranger Things, shares his thoughts on Dustin’s relationship with Eddie, saying: “Even though Steve helped Dustin find a bit of confidence, Eddie was the first one to suggest that he didn’t necessarily need to change anything about himself to have that confidence. He could have his weird niche interests, he could be an unapologetic nerd, and kind of give the middle finger to anybody who really seemed to care. Because Dustin has always had the vibe to me that he’s someone who wants to show he doesn’t care what other people think. And he meets someone who does embody that, and that’s really exciting.”

Eddie taught Dustin that he’s right and perfect, just the way he is—the he doesn’t have to hide himself for the sake of any other person. And there’s no way Dustin is giving that up to “follow the rules and blend in.” Anyone who has ever found the strength to be themselves, no matter what, knows how absurd a sentiment that is and what an unbearable sacrifice needs to be made to do so. Dustin Henderson would rather pay in other ways to stay true to himself on Stranger Things 5, and his friends should support him and help him find less destructive ways to do so, rather than telling him he’s “lost his mind.”

And that brings us to our most salient point. Dustin is grieving. Yes, 18 months have passed since Eddie Munson’s death in Stranger Things 5 when Stranger Things 5 rolls around. Yes, Eddie was not a full-time member of The Party. But he was pretty damn close. Aside from Nancy’s loss of Barb, Eddie’s death hit closer to our main characters than any other death in Stranger Things history ever has. Eddie was a friend to Dusin, Mike, and Lucas. On top of that, Eddie loved Dustin and Steve loves Dustin, so the pair shared a common connection. And Eddie, Robin, Steve, and Nancy all went into the bowels of the Upside Down together, permanently bonding them. Eddie became a part of the team on Stranger Things 4. And then he died. That’s a major loss even from the perspective of a viewer. For Dustin, it’s a horrifying trauma.

It’s worth noting that Dustin Henderson doesn’t live with his father in Stranger Things, and he is the only member of The Party without siblings. Dustin, instead, adopts brother-fathers, first Steve, and then Eddie. And that found family bond is an intense one for him and clearly a critical one in his conception of his self. Eddie was his person, his connection, his family, someone Dustin said, “I love you,” to as Eddie died in his arms. This is Dustin‘s loss. And it feels like none of his friends are honoring that with him. Instead, they want him to get over his grief to focus on what they perceive to be the most important tasks at hand, tasks which just so happen to correspond to the losses they most wish to prevent.

Mike, Lucas, and Will don’t have to feel the grief that Dustin is feeling on Stranger Things 5 to know it’s stronger than theirs, that it consumes him. And it’s not because he’s gone insane. It’s because he misses Eddie and wants to hold onto him, however he can. If they had suffered their loss, they would want Dustin to understand it, too.

So, I invite The Party and everyone out there to think again about Dustin Henderson’s arc in Stranger Things 5. Maybe putting the snake in Andy’s locker was a stupid thing to do, I’m not suggesting every move Dustin makes is genius. Maybe, staying true to himself can be perceived as selfish. But, ultimately, Dustin fights for something that will remain important long after the Upside Down is destroyed. He’s fighting to keep the good that Eddie brought into the world alive—for himself and for every other lost sheep out there who needs someone to stand up and give the middle finger to the worst people you know.

Stranger Things 5, Volume 1 is now streaming on Netflix.

Rotem Rusak is the Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist. She still talks about Eddie Munson’s death all the time and owns like ten Hellfire Club clothing items. Clearly, she’s going to Dustin-apologize on this one. And you know what, he deserves it!!!

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